Arkansas Nursing and Health Care Associations Honor 'Favorite Daughter,' NLN President, Dr. Cathleen Shultz

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — November 9, 2010 — Cathleen Shultz, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, president of the National League for Nursing and dean of the Carr College of Nursing at Harding University in Searcy, AR, was the recipient of two prestigious recognitions by nursing and allied health care organizations in her home state of Arkansas last month, the NLN announced.

One, from the Arkansas Nurses Association (ARNA), was presented during the groups annual convention, October 22-23 in Little Rock, a collaborative event with the Arkansas Nursing Students Association. Dr. Shultz was also the keynote speaker at that two-day gathering. The second award was one she accepted on behalf of her gerontology nursing students at Harding University, presented by the Arkansas Gerontology Society (AGS) on Thursday, October 28 during the AR Aging Conference in Hot Springs. Dr. Shultz is a fellow in the society.

"The NLN is doubly proud of Cathie, in light of these two wonderful honors bestowed by long-time colleagues in her beloved Arkansas. However, the news comes as no surprise to anyone who has worked with her at the NLN. Everyday, we appreciate her wisdom, vision, and hard work in helping to guide this organization," said Beverly Malone, CEO of the NLN.

ARNA presented Dr. Shultz with its coveted Distinguished Service Award "for all of your numerous contributions to the profession and the nurses of this great state and nation," said ARNA CEO Joanne DeJanovich, MSN, RN.

In her acceptance remarks to ARNA, Dr. Shultz noted, "There is no higher award than being recognized by your colleagues where you live and work. It is the people who see you everyday, know your strengths and flaws, know who you are and how you live your life that can speak deeply of accomplishments. I am humbly grateful for this honor and recognize those who made it so."

A week later, in accepting the Most Innovative Volunteer Group Award from AGS to this years gerontology nursing students at Harding, whom she teaches, Dr. Shultz, said, "Words are inadequate to express our appreciation for this honor to our nursing majors. This award is a tribute to their years of volunteer service to the much needed program for seniors."

Dr. Shultz and her colleague, PhD candidate Elizabeth Lee, developed the required course in gerontology nursing five years ago as a unique model of an academic-public-private practice partnership that prepares nursing students to be effective advocates for elderly patients. The program, operated in partnership with the Arkansas Office of Long-Term Care, incorporates ombudsman preparation and certification and includes a volunteer component through which Harding nursing students work with residents in private nursing homes, 65 and older. In 2008, Harding University College of Nursing received the Baccalaureate-Level Curricular Innovation Award from the John A. Hartford Foundation at AACN's fall meeting.

Editors and reporters: For interview opportunities, please contact Karen Klestzick, chief communications officer of the NLN, at 212-812-0376 or kklestzick@nln.org.

Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education offering faculty development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 33,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members.